RHS Wisley has put on a fantastic display of Pelargoniums in the Glasshouse – such colour and fragrance (the scent in the leaves in this instance).

Clearly they can be bright and bold, frilled, starbursting and bi-coloured but there are stunning varieties with simply beautiful foliage (oak-leaved and variegated for example) as well as those with scented-leaves where (usually) the flowers are more modest. The gallery starts with the most highly-coloured and heads into the scented-leaf spectrum with some species and less showy – but no less beautiful – stars in the perlargonium firmament. Something for everyone.

It really is a beautiful display but is just a taster of plants in this vast group – there are many more available from specialist nurseries like Fibrex (who are winning Gold at Chelsea at the moment – I’ll see them on Friday and again at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in July). I can see some parting-with-cash coming soon ….

I’ll have to take a photo or two at Petersham Nurseries where we have a lot of Regals, Zonals, Ivy-leaved (trailing) and scented-leaved varieties (including Attar of Roses) – and one that has the exact spritz of coca-cola – I need that particular daily fix!

In the meantime I’ll leave you to roam through this gallery and perhaps p p p p pick up your own pelargonium for this summer and the seasons ahead.

Teddington Gardener

These pages illustrate my love of plants and gardens, design and creative expression - learning more about horticulture and sharing the knowledge. Here you will find a showcase for my own photography, commentary on plants and places visited, horticultural know-how, a dose of inspiration and a seasonal diary for your garden.